


5 Times Marcus Pierce Was Killed + 1 Time He Wasn't

by BlaiddDrwg1982



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Can't tag too much without giving up the plot., I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied Non/Con but it DIDN'T HAPPEN., M/M, Marcus Dies. A lot., Marcus has bad luck, Not Beta Read, Spoilers In Notes, Wordcount: 5.000-10.000, read the notes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-22
Updated: 2019-01-22
Packaged: 2019-10-14 10:40:21
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,302
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17507048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlaiddDrwg1982/pseuds/BlaiddDrwg1982
Summary: Sitting up, he could see the blood drain from Ella's face, with a shocked and startled reaction mirrored on Chloe and Dan."I suppose...you're going to want an explanation."





	5 Times Marcus Pierce Was Killed + 1 Time He Wasn't

**Author's Note:**

> This diverges from canon just enough that Pierce didn't kill Charlotte. Just. Enough. 
> 
> There is a trigger warning for implied attempted sexual assault on a character. I'm saying right now it didn't happen. If this squicks you though, you can skip section 5 without missing much. 
> 
> Thoroughly unbetaed. All mistakes are my own. I have no claim on these characters. I just borrowed them a little.
> 
> Some strong-ish language.

1.

Marcus woke up the morning after the abortive bachelorette, staring at the ceiling and without even looking, just knew there was a certain mark once again on his right arm. Sighing, he threw his blankets off and plodded through his house, ignoring the time on his microwave, and the half a dozen missed calls on his cell. Making his coffee, he eyed his phone as it started to vibrate across his countertop.

It was Lucifer.

Hitting ignore, he walked back to his bathroom and attended to his dailies, waiting for the hot water to make it's overly complicated trek from the basement hot water heater to the extremely overpriced shower head he'd bought when he bought this place. Stepping into the stream of just-this-side-of-scalding water, he thumped his head against the wall, feeling the water wash away his anger. There wasn't a point. Not anymore. Something had happened to sever the connection he had with Chloe. Something made her doubt. If there was one thing that eons of life had taught him, it was the subtle art of introspection. He'd done it. Whatever it was, he knew, it was his fault and no-one else's. 

Dressing, he grabbed his keys, his phone, and he made his way to the precinct. Grabbing a cup of coffee that tasted like it was from last night, he looked around an saw that Chloe and Dan hadn't yet showed up. A quick look over at Forensics told him the Ella was not in just yet either. So much the better. The fewer people he had to deal with the better. There was even a note on his desk stating that Lucifer was not going to be available for a few days due to some family business. Tossing his phone on his desk, it started to vibrate again before it even came to a complete rest against the stack of files in the corner. 

Without checking the caller ID, he thumbed the little green button and snapped a terse, "Pierce."

"Hello Sinnerman."

Marcus stopped in the doorway, feeling his blood run cold. He had reached out to what was left of his organization to start the tear down of operations last night before he called it a night. He knew it wouldn't be quick but he was banking on trying to keep it from getting too bloody. He'd run the organization for decades, and it wasn't too dissimilar to others he'd run through the ages either. This time around though, especially with the advent of modern weaponry, and insinuating himself into law enforcement, he knew this wasn't going to be as straight forward as it had been the last time. 

Of course he also couldn't bank on anything on the scale of the French Revolution either to hide the body count that would arrive if he were to tackle it himself. He was even considering offering up the tougher elements to Maze as a peace offering as he wasn't going to be dying anytime soon. She wouldn't take the news well, he knew that already, but there was some dealing with the demon he was willing to do. 

If it served his interests, then so much the better.

"What do you want."

He was in no mood for this. He was once again immortal after that brief window of vulnerability passed him by. He was in no mood, and he was running late for work. Might as well stick around a few years longer until it became suspicious as to why he didn't appear to be getting any older. 

"We hear that you're looking at closing up shop Boss, and we just gotta know why."

"I'm sorry. I guess I missed the part where I had to answer to you, not the other way around. I've given the order so carry it out. You have two days to close up shop and leave L.A. or else an anonymous tip is going to make for a really bad day for you."

Or a phone call to a literal Demon from Hell, but they didn't need to know that part. They had a basic understanding of what he was but only enough to know that he was rich, damn near impossible to kill and not someone to double cross. Although, from the sounds of things it looked like they were about to put that theory to the test. 

"Not as bad a day as your sweetheart is about to have."

Marcus felt his hand tense involuntarily. It wasn't that Chloe hadn't shown up. She was already in the field. If he were to venture a guess, she likely had Daniel with her. 

"Where is she?"

"Funny things happen when a panicked phone call comes in that they may have seen a body in an art house. The detective sounded all kinds of concerned and promised she'd be right over."

He hung up at the laughter on the other end. The mention of the art house let him know exactly where they were. He bought the place as a front to launder money when the need arose. It also served as a convenient front for his minions to at least appear like they were legitimate and hard working individuals. In truth he'd even hosted a couple art shows just to make the bastards dress up and serve canapés to the wealthy. He wasn't without a sense of whimsy.

Making sure he had his gun on him, he made his way back out to the parking garage. Throwing his helmet on, he was on the bike and off like a bat out of hell.

He'd have to remember to ask Lucifer if there actually were bats in hell and if there was anyway for them to leave. It was one of those things that stuck in his mind ever since he'd heard the expression, and it really came to the forefront when he actually met Lucifer. 

Shaking his head to pull his focus back, he dodged and weaved through traffic like an old pro, and avoided a few near misses when the red lights were against him. Chloe may have broken up with him. She may not even love him anymore, as the mark on his bicep would attest, but she was still one of his detectives, and a damn good one at that. He wasn't about to let his goons kill her. Or Dan. He didn't have the same attachment to Dan, but that was paperwork he didn't like filling out. He may be the first murderer but he wasn't a COMPLETE asshole.

Pulling around the back of the building, he heard the elevated voices, though they were a muffled. Opening the door he saw Espinoza on the ground, and with a quick check, he confirmed that Dan was simply unconscious. Rolling him into a safer location, he looked up towards the stairs. There were multiple sets of voices, rapidly talking back and forth. Chloe's he recognized, but again, he couldn't hear what she was saying.

Silently making his way up the stairs, he ducked behind the shipping crates, careful to not trip on any of the bodies. Decker had done well levelling out the playing field. Sneaking between the crates, Pierce dispatched two of the men who were crouched and waiting with a hands over their mouths and a quick crack to their necks. 

There were a few people on the upper level with their guns pointed at Chloe, and he could finally make out what they were saying. 

"...Richards jumped between us and that other guy. Maybe we should have called you out to the bluff on the top of the hills instead. Won't matter. You'll all be joining her soon enough. Boys."

Marcus heard the guns get cocked. Without thinking, he threw himself out of his hiding spot, taking careful aim to take out as many of them as he could. Feeling the first bullet tear through his shoulder, he hooked an arm around Chloe's waste and pushed her to the ground. Covering her body with his. He'd lost track of the number of bullets that got pumped into his back, but he managed to lock his arms so he didn't collapse immediately on her, allowing Chloe to take a couple shots around his body. After a few deafening shots, everything went quiet. Then everything went dark. He didn't even remember collapsing on the ground.

After who knew how long, he opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. Ella was crouched near him, cataloguing the bullet wounds. Chloe had her arms around a rather distraught looking Dan. He heard her saying that they'd found Charlotte's body up on the bluff on the top of the hills that Lucifer and Amenadiel liked to visit from time to time. There weren't any other people around when he took a shaking breath in.

Sitting up, he could see the blood drain from Ella's face, with a shocked and startled reaction mirrored on Chloe and Dan.

"I suppose...you're going to want an explanation."

***

2.

All things considered the conversation with them regarding who and what he was went fairly well. There was some yelling. Some screaming. Chloe's glare when he got to the part about getting her to fall in love with him so he could die was almost enough to put him into a permanent grave. The entire "Lucifer is the Devil" side of the conversation was a bit slow going, but a display of his wings and "Devil Eyes" solved a few mysteries as well. An emergency call to Linda regarding the "Maze is a Demon" was needed to keep Chloe from completely freaking out about the fact that Maze was babysitting Trixie right that very moment. When they'd reminded her that Maze was still the same person she'd always been and nothing had changed about her, she'd finally relaxed enough that she wasn't going to completely lose her shit.

The conversation was then had about whether or not to tell Trixie, so they had Maze come by the Penthouse with the girl to tell her.

"Well duh. I know Lucifer's the Devil but he's really an Angel and he's just kinda bad at it. And I know that Maze is a Demon. She showed me her face on Halloween!"

Maze shrugged her shoulders almost guiltily.

"I thought she'd just think it was make up or a mask or something."

"I could see your tongue through your cheek when you were talking."

Scrunching her nose at Trixie and then giving her smile, they agreed to just keep it within this group. Given that Trixie was the only one who seemed to accept everything at face value and she hadn't told a soul, there wasn't much risk of her spilling the beans to anyone else. Including the bit about Marcus surviving 28 near point blank gunshots to the back. He knew he'd be coughing out bullets for a week because of it. That evening, everyone retreated to their respective domains, though strangely enough, Marcus felt lighter now than he had ever before. 

On and on the days wore. Days turned to weeks, turned to months, turned to years. Marcus started to dye his temples grey to give the illusion of aging to prolong his time with those he'd begun to trust as his inner circle, and indeed his friends. 

Walking through the precinct, nodding his head at the various people who were leaving for the night, Marcus approached the door to the forensics lab and knocked on the door frame. Ella kept bobbing her head to the music that was blasting in her headphones, dancing around her lab like she was on the floor at Lux.

Stepping behind her, he tapped her on the shoulder and was rewarded with a punch to the gut for his trouble. Doubling over and having some trouble taking a breath, he looked up to see the horrified and shocked look on her face as she frantically tried to pull her headphones off, turn off the music, and babble out an apology.

"Lopez. Nice jab. You uh...you ready to go."

"I am so, so, SO sorry. I was just, in the zone and separating the heavy metal traces that was in the blood from the guy they pulled out of the reservoir, then a good thread of music came on and we're going to be late aren't we."

"Only if we don't leave right now."

Rubbing his midsection, he gingerly stood up. The bruise that he knew was blossoming under his shirt would be gone by the time they got to the Penthouse, but that didn't make it any less tender.

"Did you get him anything?"

Marcus looked down at her as he fished his car keys out of his bag and handed them over to her. It may have been his car, but Ella liked to drive. Fast. 

"I didn't think this was a 'Buy a Gift' type thing considering he only told us about it two days ago."

"It's been 10 years since Lucifer settled in L.A. This is a big deal to him. Geez. Besides. Aren't you dating the guy?"

Scratching the back of his neck, he nodded his head. Their's wasn't the most conventional of relationships. But given they were the only two people who wouldn't outlive each other, they decided to give it a shot.

"What did you get him?"

"A book on the comparisons and contrasts of Judeo-Christian philosophy on the Devil and contemporary analogues from the late 3rd century."

Marcus started zoning out on the description which he knew from experience meant that Lucifer would absolutely love it. Probably find it a right laugh. But given that Ella had probably painstakingly researched it, and likely spent way more than she should have, he knew that it would land among Lucifer's more treasured possessions. 

"He's going to love it."

She unlocked his car and they got in. Ella commenced her usual million-and-two adjustments to accommodate her significantly shorter stature.

"You really think so?"

Nodding his head.

"I know so. We just have one stop before the Penthouse. Mind swinging by Los Angeles Vaults on the way? There's something I need to pick up."

Nodding her head, thinking nothing of it really. She knew the way there as they'd been called out to that area more than a few times over the last few years. Pulling into traffic, Marcus subtly grabbed the "Holy Shit" bars in the car as Ella jammed through the gears and wove through traffic like she was invincible. Looking out of the corner of his eye, he saw a glimpse of a much younger and more carefree Ella. One day, he was going to rent out a racetrack and get a few cars together just so she could Go. 

Drifting into a parking space, he winced expecting to hear the telltale sound of crushing metal when they hit the curb. When all was silent and still, he opened his eyes and opened the door. If she'd been parallel parking on a road test, it would have been perfect distance to the curb and to the cars both ahead and behind. Granted she'd probably get arrested for drifting it, but who was quibbling. 

Getting out of the car, he looked up at the sun and smiled. Today was going to be a good day. When Ella joined him, she took his arm and they walked into the building. Not wasting any time, he was escorted to access his deposit box, retrieving what he was there for and dropping off something else. He liked to keep a mixture of important (to him) items interspersed with things that a thief would be interested in and would overlook the other stuff. Closing the box and signalling that he was done, he was escorted back towards the main area, but something felt a little bit off. 

"Shh. Wait here. If I'm not back in 5 minutes, call this number and tell them there's been an incident."

Handing the proprietor a business card with Chloe's cell phone number on it, he inched forward and looked in the lobby. Sure enough, there was a masked asshole with a gun waving it in the face of one of the people running the front desk. Another was in Ella's face, demanding she hand over her bag, which she was clutching like it was the most important thing in the world. Reaching for his gun, he cursed himself silently for not having his service weapon on him. No. Instead it was locked in his desk. Catching Ella's eye, he nodded for her to hand the bag over. Pulling his weapon from his ankle holster, he inched forward.

"Hey. I know you...you're that little science bitch that works for the cops."

A third person pulled a gun out, holding it to Ella's forehead. This caused Pierce to stop in his tracks and he felt a cold type of numbness flood his body. Ella was one of the few bright points of light in his life and he was enraged about the gun in her face. If he moved at the wrong time, Ella would bear the worst of it. Carefully lining up his shot, he took a breath. Then another one. Shifting himself just a few inches to the left, he had a perfectly clear shot past her head. Pulling the trigger just the once, he was rewarded with seeing the other man go down, Ella a little spooked, but none the worse for wear. 

He had, in that instant also forgotten about the other two people. Feeling the stinging pain between his eyes, he let the darkness overtake him. The headache would be worse than the hangover he had in Constantinople. Or in Rome during the orgies. 

Between one heartbeat and the next, he blinked slowly, wincing at the headache and the bright light. Ella was watching over him, Chloe and Dan doing damage control. He was almost disappointed that Lucifer wasn't here, but they'd agreed after the last time he'd been killed at work that Lucifer couldn't come to these call outs. He was so enraged that his Devil Face came back with a burning vengeance. Pun not intended.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out what he'd gone into the vault for. A small black velvet box. Ella sat back on her heels.

"I thought you said you didn't get him anything."

Opening the box, there was a woven black and white gold band sitting in black silk."

"I did say I didn't get anything for him. I already had it."

Smiling down at the ring.  
"I'm going to ask Lucifer to marry me."

*****  
3.

"We never should have let him transfer to Vice."

"We really shouldn't have. Why did we let him again?"

"He gave you the puppy dog eyes."

"You didn't have to approve it."

"You're his Lieutenant, Chloe."

"And you're our Commander, Marcus."

Chuckling through the comm link, he used it as a distraction from the pain he was getting running in a very inappropriate pair of shoes. Lucifer insisted he start dressing his rank, which sometimes meant good Italian leather, rather than his more appropriate running footwear. They looked good in photos, but had no traction and the arch support was next to nil.

"Fair enough. I'll cut around back if you go in through the front."

"Copy that. See you inside."

Neither of them really should be out here bailing Dan out of a bust gone wrong. But they'd both received his text from his burner phone with his safe word meaning he was well and truly fucked. 

They just happened to be in the neighbourhood. Honestly. They weren't checking up on him at all from a distance with binoculars and a hidden van around the corner from the building he just happened to be in with the head of the drug cartel he'd been infiltrating. Pure coincidence.

Not even attempting to be quiet, Marcus kicked the door open, and was rewarded with a graze on his shoulder for his efforts. He honestly preferred getting killed over getting grazed. Whatever it was that reanimated him and healed fatal wounds for some reason didn't touch bullet grazes. Even getting punched seemed to heal faster than these. Hissing slightly, he also had no doubt Lucifer would have a few choice words for him regarding the shirt and suit jacket. 

Making his way up the stairs, he saw Dan, peaceful as could be on his knees with a gun wedged between his teeth. If you had asked Marcus even a few years ago whether he'd be willing to run through the door to rescue Dan, he would have called you crazy. Now, against his better judgement and thousands of years of only watching out for himself, he found that he was in the reluctant position of playing guardian to an assorted band of misfits. Daniel included. His husband had developed a bit of a weird appreciation for the human, so it went without saying that Marcus would have to do his level best to keep the man in the realm of the living. 

Not allowing his momentum to slow, Marcus went barrelling into the room, and threw himself bodily at the man that had Daniel on his knees. Tumbling to the ground, the gun was thrown to the other side of the room, while Marcus and his target bowled over Dan. Hearing the other man groan Marcus pulled back with his fist and knocked their target unconscious. While nearly every impulse in his body was telling him to kill the guy, in this particular life he was still living, he was a cop, and they usually had to bring the bad guys in. Besides. This was a bastard who was running an under ground drug cartel that also was dabbling in human trafficking. Even in his more depraved days, he didn't agree with slavery. Have been sold to slavery himself a couple times, especially given that his complexion didn't quite match some of the areas of the world he was in, he'd really developed a hatred for traffickers. 

Getting to his feet, he checked himself for any more rips or scrapes and was delighted to know that the entire back seam of his jacket had torn wide open.Dusting himself off, Marcus crossed the floor to where Daniel was laying. Pulling his pocket knife he cut Dan free and helped him to his feet. 

"You okay Espinoza?"

"Yeah boss. I am now. You?"

"Shirt's torn. Jacket's torn."

"So what you're telling me is that you're a dead man."

"I am not a dead man, at least not until I get home. Then when Lucifer sees what happened to my clothes and shoes...THEN I'm a dead man."

Chuckling and shaking his head, Dan turned to see Chloe come barreling into the room. She looked a little worse for wear herself and the scent of a recently discharged firearm was hard to miss. She'd likely done the clean up duty on her way up to afford them a little breathing space. Holstering her side arm, but not clicking the strap on to secure it, in case she needed to do a quick draw, she walked across the room. Looking at Dan and then at Marcus, she couldn't help but laugh when she saw the status of his suit.

"You know that Lucifer is going to kill you right?"

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I come back?" 

Nodding her head, Chloe went to the unconscious form that was a few feet away and snapped the handcuffs she had in her back pocket on him. Taking a quick pulse check, she was relieved to see that he was still alive. Pierce had been pretty clear about his feelings about this one. Fortunately, it would still count as a win for the department, and for Dan. His career had never really recovered from what he had done to it but at the same time, Pierce was doing his best to at least keep him respectable. Losing Charlotte those few years back had thrown him for a loop and got his head back in the game. It came as some consolation that Amenadiel had come back down from the Silver City to let them knew she'd been welcomed into Paradise. 

Marcus turned to say something to Dan when he noticed a red dot on Dan's chest. Without warning, he rushed Dan and threw him to the ground, taking the full force of the bullet in his back. Feeling the pain blossoming in he chest, he cringed when he saw that the bullet had gone right through and clattered to the ground. It was a pretty high calibre bullet with a very decent velocity. Feeling his nervous system start to short circuit, he collapsed, face first into the floor. Hearing as though from a distance the sound of Dan and Chloe returning fire, he just let himself lay on the ground and go to darkness.

Lucifer was really going to be upset.

******  
4.

It had been 7 years since Marcus had come to L.A., 12 since Lucifer had, and 2 since he and Lucifer had gotten married. They were making their plans for leaving L.A., as some people were starting to ask the questions about why they didn't appear to be getting much older, despite the grey they had put into their hair, and the careful application of make up to simulate age. It wasn't going to be easy, but at least they had each other. Their friends, while sad and a bit upset about it, knew they'd always be welcome to go and visit them, but for the time being it was starting to raise a few too many eyebrows. If Marcus had fudged his age down a little bit when he arrived it wouldn't have been a bit deal. But Lucifer was looking a touch too good for someone who was supposed to be pushing his 50's. Even in L.A.

Sitting across the table from Linda, he chuckled as he took a sip of his whiskey. It wasn't very often they had a chance to talk like this, but Linda had officially divested herself of Lucifer as a patient, having worked with him to the point that he would be able to keep up the work on his own. She was no spring chicken herself, and was looking forward to retiring from her practice altogether. They'd even set aside a separate bedroom exclusively for her use in the house they bought in Whistler. It had set them back a good amount of money, but they figured they'd earned it. The plan was to live a bit under the radar again for a couple years, then start into the local real estate business and make a mint with high end condo's for those people with more money than sense who went north for the skiing, but never set foot on a slope.

He was planning on avoiding that sport as much as he possibly could. He had literally fallen off Mt. Everest just over a century ago, he was done with winter sports involving snow and mountains. At least for a few more lifetimes.

"So you're not nervous at all?"

"I've disappeared before, and I'll disappear again."

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was, are you nervous about leaving behind this group of people who you have grown attached to? That's something you've admitted you haven't done in a long time, and as it was, the last time you let yourself get close to someone, they were the ones who died and you just moved on. So. Are you nervous Marcus Pierce?"

Marcus furrowed his brow and actually thought about it for a few moments. Sipping his drink before reluctantly nodding his head.

"I think I actually am. But it won't be as bad this time I don't think. For one, you all knowing who and what we are means that we don't have to sever contact with you. We can just...be gone and away, and still visit and video chat. You have a place to stay when you come up. So does everyone else. What I'm nervous about is...what happens after you all leave us."

Mortal death. Something that had been the topic of a lot of her sessions with Lucifer towards the end of their Doctor/Patient relationship. Lucifer was terrified of it. He had never grown close to mortals before and it was a daunting thought. Still. It was the way of the world and Linda had given them both a lot of information, and worked with them both to develop coping mechanisms to get them through it.

"You'll both be fine. It will hurt. And it will be painful. And for a lot of us, you'll have the rest of us to lean on. So that when the time comes and it's the last one of us, you'll know what to do. Now. Visiting privileges or not, I'm personally going to miss our Thursday afternoon lunches. It won't be the same talking to you through a computer screen Marcus."

He gave her a soft smile at that. Reaching out and squeezing her hand softly, he grimaced at the sound from the doorway. It sounded like an argument between the host and someone demanding entry. Linda ducked her head over to see past Marcus' shoulder and pulled herself back looking like she had seen a ghost. 

"This isn't good."

"What's wrong?"

"Do you remember that person I was called to the stand to testify to the fact that he was faking being mentally ill to escape a heavier sentence for the assault and battery charges? He's here. And I'm guessing he saw me."

Reaching for his sidearm, he all but growled at himself. He had his badge in his pocket, but that was it. He was off duty, and wasn't carrying his gun with him. That was safely locked up. Pulling out his wallet, he threw a few bills down on the table. Over paying and DEFINITELY overtipping for what they had ordered.

"While he's distracted, sneak back and hide in the kitchen. I'll follow you as soon as I can. Call Chloe or Dan. See if they can get a car over here."

Looking back, he nodded at her.

"Go."

Linda scooched herself out of her chair and did what he had asked. Sneaking through the kitchen, she found her way into the kitchen manager's office, which also happened to have the security monitors set up. Watching the one on the front, Linda sat in silence as she watched Marcus approach the man, arms up and wide to show he wasn't carrying anything on him.

Marcus for his part was running the scenario through his head. At least this time he wasn't in one of the suits that Lucifer was oh so obsessed with him keeping clean. Small blessings he guessed.

"Sir. Can I ask you to lower your voice and leave? You're upsetting the nice people here."

The agitated man just shook his head and growled. An honest to goodness growl. Pulling a gun from the back of his pants, he held it up, shaking a bit. He wasn't used to holding these sorts of weapons. His preference was a baseball bat. But given the relatively small distance, he could pull the trigger and give Marcus a really bad day.

"I know she's here. I saw her. I saw her with you."

"Sir, I don't know what happened, but I can assure you there's nothing worth doing what you're planning on doing."

Inching closer to him, Marcus wasn't quite in reaching distance just yet. Looking around, he indicated subtly to the staff that was near by to back away.

"How about we put the gun down, and we can talk about this rationally."

The other man barked out an ugly laugh.

"Nah. I say I just pull the trigger and go for walk until I find her, then pull the trigger again."

The man stepped back, bringing the gun up. Pulling the trigger, Marcus was throw back shot to the stomach. Stomach wounds hurt like a bitch the entire time they took to kill you. The bullet also missed his spine, so he didn't even have the refuge of misfiring nerves to distract from the pain in his gut. Watching the man run, he didn't get very far before he was tossed to the pavement and cuffed. Putting pressure on the wound, he felt his eyes slowly closing.

Looking up through the delirium, he saw Linda's face appear at the periphery, tears running down her face. Kneeling beside him she sniffed.

"I keep telling you all...I'm not this kind of doctor."

Laughing at the absurdity of the statement, he felt her hands join his, putting on pressure for appearances sake. Because of this, Marcus and Lucifer would likely have to leave a lot sooner than they had originally planned. It was getting too hard to keep up the cover, and getting shot in a public place, would mean at the very least, that he would have to stay completely out of view. There'd have to be a funeral. Then after an appropriate amount of time, Lucifer would have to leave.

"Don't cry Linda. Don't cry."

Feeling her press her lips to his cheek, he felt the cold slipping into his body. He'd be dead again soon. He could fake dead for a while, drop his heart beat, that sort of thing. Ella would insist on being lead on this and would personally see to his 'autopsy'. He'd be back at the Penthouse tonight in time to give Trixie the car keys to her very own convertible. Which Chloe and Dan would hate, but wouldn't begrudge her either. Then he would have to leave. He had to face reality. He would be leaving L.A. soon. That realization, it turned out, was more painful than the bullet in his gut.

"I'll see you soon Marcus."

****

5\. 

"Is it weird being back? Does it feel weird to you?"

Maze looked over at Marcus who was dressed in such a way so as to blend in with the crowd. Definitely not his usual style of late, but there were obvious reasons for it. There were a lot of officers from the precinct who had come in to cheer on and support Trixie as she received her diploma. It wasn't so weird seeing her, given that she'd been up to visit them in Whistler only a few weeks ago, text books in tow as she was preparing for her finals. 

Everyone had thought she was going to go into law enforcement, like her parents and her grandfather. It came as more than a bit of surprise that she had gone into Civil Engineering. Still. They were all immensely proud of her, and given that she had practically grown up around the precinct, it stood to reason that some of the officers would be here.

"It feels like it's about time to be back. Any sign of Lucifer?"

"Probably risking being exposed to go and see Chloe and Dan. Or he snuck back stage to see Trixie."

"I'm surprised you didn't go with him."

Maze smiled softly and shook her head.

"Nah. I'll see her soon enough."

Marcus nodded his head as he took in the subtle changes in Maze. She was still as intense as ever, but being back here, and this close to Trixie, she almost seemed more human than when they were away. Not that he'd ever say such a thing to her face. He enjoyed not being torn to bits. It was still nice to see her let her guard down, even just the little bit she did here. He had no doubt if anyone so much as looked at Trixie the wrong way, they'd be in for a world of pain, but she wasn't as bloodthirsty as she had been. Growing up would do that he guessed.

Shuffling through the back row, they took their seats, glad to have a good view of the stage. The sound system was terrible, but he suspected that was part of the charm of these ceremonies. One of the benefits of 'retirement' was that he didn't HAVE to do things like these assemblies any more. If it were anyone BUT Trixie, he wouldn't have even left Canada. But to Trixie, he was Uncle Marcus and Uncle Marcus always kept his promises to her. 

Even when it killed him.

After a few moments, the band in the corner of the auditorium started things off with playing the National Anthem, followed by the school anthem which he did NOT know the words to. He was shocked to see that Maze did though. Looking over at her, she shrugged.

"Trixie taught them to me. Figured it would help me blend in when I was bounty hunting during her freshman year."

"Why were you bounty hunting around here in her freshman year?"

Maze guiltily looked down at her boots with a rather unapologetic smirk. She was a conundrum. She looked guilty, but she'd never admit to it nor would she apologize for it. 

"Iwaswatchingoutforher," she mumbled under her breath.

"You were what?"

Rolling her eyes, she looked up at him.

"I said I was watching out for her the first semester after she moved out of Chloe's place okay? I didn't want her getting hurt."

A rather honest statement, though not entirely needed. Maze had stuck around a bit longer than Lucifer had after he'd been shot when he was out with Linda. While she was here, she'd taught Trixie how to fight. More to the point, taught her how to fight like a Demon would. Add into that the martial arts training she had growing up as a way for her to burn off some energy, and Trixie was definitely a young woman who could take care of herself.

The evidence of this was made apparent when one of her high school boyfriends tried to force her into something she didn't want to do, so she hog tied him with his own underwear that he was still wearing, and dragged him into the nearest police station to press charges. He tried pressing charges against her, but when he'd gotten to his point in his statement about what precipitated her self defence, he'd incriminated himself and it was pretty open and shut from there.

"That's really good of you Maze."

Smiling a bit at the praise, she settled in for what was going to likely be the most boring event of her existence.

About halfway through she turned to Marcus.

"When I go back to Hell...I'm going to use THIS as a template."

Snickering to himself, they watched as Trixie's class was called up to receive their diplomas.

"Alexander Espinosa. Beatrice Espinoza..."

Before the name had even finished being spoken, the auditorium erupted in applause. The remainder of the event passed by reasonably quickly, but still took nearly forever. Feeling his phone buzz, Lucifer was catching a ride with Dan and Chloe back to the Beach House that they'd given to Chloe and Trixie when Maze moved out. Technically she was renting it, but it was a zero dollar rental, this way they could afford to pay most of Trixie's tuition, with Lucifer and Marcus contributing the rest. No way were they letting her do the student loan thing. 

"Looks like we're heading back together. Want a lift?"

"Sounds good."

Waiting until most of the crowd had dissipated, and all the officers had left, Marcus and Maze worked their way to the far lot they'd parked in. Keeping their heads down as they passed through the crowds, the emerged on the other side of campus, none the worse for wear, although the shoes were again pinching his feet. He should know by now not to let Lucifer pick out his footwear.

"Do you mind if we stop at a liquor store? I promised Lucifer we'd pick up a bottle of good scotch for tonight, lord knows what Chloe has stocked up at the house."

Maze shrugged as they got into the SUV. It was a massive thing. Much too big for California, which was all the reason Lucifer needed to buy it. Pulling into traffic, they didn't have to go too far to find a liquor store, but when they saw the number of police that were near it, they opted to go to one just a little further off campus.

"Is Trixie legal to drink down here?"

"She turned 23 on her last birthday so I'd say yes...not that it ever really stopped her."

Shrugging his acceptance about it, he pulled into the parking lot and hopped out of the driver's side. When he saw Maze undoing her seatbelt, he shut off the vehicle and walked around the back of the car. Making their way towards the liquor store, they heard the tell tale sounds of angry yelling and a frightened reply. Great. Just great. A robbery. Before they could turn around and go back to their car, the door was thrown open and Marcus found himself being barrelled over. Smashing his head against the ground, he was seeing stars. Through the stars he saw the muzzle of a gun, and before Maze could do anything about it, he was on the receiving end of two bullets to the chest. 

Maze let the guy go, instead crouching to Marcus, lifted him as though he weighed nothing, grabbed the keys, threw him in the back and sped off. Feeling his blood soaking into the carpet in the back, he groaned. Of course. Not even in California 2 days and he'd already been killed. Again. This didn't happen in Whistler.

"We'll just have to hope that Decker has something decent to drink. Do you have a spare shirt?"

Coughing up a mouthful of blood, his only response was to slump over and let the darkness take him once again.

***  
\+ 1

Marcus stood there panting, putting himself between the gunman and Lucifer. Chloe was knocked out behind the sofa, but from past experience that was still enough for Lucifer to be mortally wounded.

"Leave him out of this. He's not the one you want. Take me instead just...let them live..."

The gunman's hand squeezed a bit tighter on the trigger when time seemed to slow down. Lucifer appeared out of nowhere, wings spread wide open, plucking the gun from the other person's grasp, and crushed it like a tin can. Marcus spun on his heel to see a very frozen Lucifer on the couch. Turning back to the other Lucifer, he raised his hand to his head to process what he was seeing.

"You're not dying today Marcus. Not ever again."

"But...I have to. I have to protect...you. I have to protect everyone."

Looking down as the still Lucifer and Chloe, then back and the winged Lucifer with the look of sadness in his eyes, Marcus squeezed his eyes closed. Shaking the cobwebs clear, he looked around the setting he was in, and gave a twisted smile.

"I'm in Hell aren't I?"

Lucifer nodded his head. Reaching out to take Marcus' hand, he lead Marcus towards the pantry door. Opening it, instead of the canned good he'd expected to see, instead he saw grey towers with falling ash.

"How long?"

"About 150 years. Give or take a month or two."

Letting Lucifer pull him out into the wasteland, he smiled as Lucifer interlaced their fingers, not willing to let go as they traversed the Hellscape. Leading Marcus to what could generously be called a castle, he opened the door and lead him out of the ash. The inside was a sand colour, similar to the wall he'd had in the Penthouse. The floors were polished black marble. There were a few seats to choose from, which looked comfortable enough. Allowing himself to be lead to a sofa, he sat down, pleasantly surprised by the gentle kiss he received.

"When...I mean...what happened? How did I...when did I..."

"You and Ella at the Los Angeles Vaults. You saved her but in the process..."

"I died...and it stuck. I thought..."

Marcus looked down at his arm. There was no mark there. He knew for certain it was there when he entered the building but...but..."

"You were found with this in your pocket."

Lucifer held up his left hand to show the ring that Marcus had apparently intended to give to him. That he wasn't able to give to him. That he'd never given to him. Even though he could remember their wedding with perfect clarity. It had been an illusion.

"I was going to ask you to marry me."

"And I would have said yes."

Letting out a bitter chuckle, Marcus buried his face in his hands. 150 years on Earth, and he had been down here...how many loops did he suffer through. Not wanting to dwell on that, he changed the direction of the conversation.

"So Trixie..."

"Beatrice graduated, with honours to be exact, whatever that happens to mean. Got married and had a few children of her own. She told them about me and Maze. We couldn't just leave the Detective's grandchildren alone in the world. So. A few generations passed and they forgot about Maze and I. So here I am."

"What about Mazikeen? Did she come back with you?"

"Funny thing about Mazikeen. When it was time to depart, instead of coming down with me, Dad sent Amenadiel to take her up with him. It would appear that she did something Dad never expected and developed something akin to a soul. As Beatrice got older, Maze moved in with her, and took care of her well into her old age. She gave up much of herself to keep the little girl who first treated her like an equal, to keep her alive and healthy as long as possible that...she's been rewarded."

"Ella? Chloe? Dan? Linda?"

"All of them gone up to the Silver City. They lived good lives. Daniel went first I'm afraid. Not long after Beatrice's graduation, he was investigating something down at the docks. He was caught unaware and..."

Lucifer tensed up as he spoke. It was clear it had affected him, probably more than he was willing to admit to. Squeezing his hand in reassurance, Marcus pressed a kiss to the back of it, earning him a small smile in return.

"Chloe, Linda and Ella went gradually after that. Old age, in their sleep, with no pain. Azrael personally oversaw them going Up. Eventually, as I said, our connections to Earth started to diminish and...the pain of loss is not something I'll ever get used to. It nearly killed me when you died. Chloe even went so far as to disappear for a while so I couldn't be near her and end it all myself."

Marcus tossed up a silent thanks to Chloe for doing that. It couldn't have been an easy decision.

"Which brings us my Love, to you. It appears that, despite saving Chloe and Ella, there was still guilt on your mind when you died. But instead of repeating the same action over and over again...you were forced to witness what was happening on Earth, only to die when certain things occurred in the loop."

Now that he was removed from the loop, he could think about each time with more clarity.

"Sacrificing myself to protect others. I guess I figured if maybe I saved enough people, I'd lose the guilt over everything I'd done."

"Did it help?"

Marcus just shook his head, and chewed him thumbnail. Pulling Lucifer over to have a proper cuddle, he pressed a kiss to Lucifer's forehead.

"What happens now?"

Lucifer closed his eyes, simply enjoying being back with the man he had intended to marry. Pulling him down for a right proper kiss, he shrugged his shoulders.

"You can stay down here with me...or I can take you up to be with our family."

Raising an eyebrow at the term, his confusion must have been evident on his face.

"Linda, before she passed, made me realize that, even more than my Brothers and Sisters, the people I'd surrounded myself with on Earth were more family to me than most of my own. They've all even settled near to each other. It's quite convenient."

 

If Marcus was being honest with himself, it was tempting. To see them again...really see them...was something he wanted very badly. However.

"What about you?"

"Hmm?"

"If I go there...what about you?"

"I'm forced to rule over this place. My home is no longer the Silver City. I've left here for far too long and it is my job..."

Something major must have happened on Earth for him to be so willing to remain here.

"I'll stay with you."

Lucifer sat up, trying his best to not look thrilled at the decision.

"I've lost...so much time with you. As much as I love them, and miss them...you're the one I wanted to marry. You're the one I wanted eternity with. So you're the one I choose."

Pulling Lucifer into a deep kiss, when they finally broke their affection with each other, Lucifer's face was damp with tears. Brushing them away with a callused thumb, Marcus smiled.

"It's not like you can't take me up for visits either you know."

Chuckling, Lucifer pulled him into a kiss, smiling into it, relieved that finally, Marcus was going to live.

**Author's Note:**

> I live for kudos and comments. Be gentle. This is my first time with this pairing. Share with your friends if you liked it!


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